First for the fun: a new machinima and live mixed video by Drax that features the TechSoup Community team behind the scenes working on the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwAZ1-BstjE

And for the how and why of what we're doing in this community:
The people of TechSoup have been deeply saddened by the recent devastation in Haiti. We have been so inspired and impressed with the many ways folks are using mobile and other technologies to help with disaster relief. Together we have blogged about some of these relief efforts from the great folks at Ushahidi and the Extraordinaries as well as those of our donor partners.

I am in the process of setting-up a non-profit which will provide another sales channel for Third World entrepreneurs. More specifically, the Third World entrepreneurs’ goods would be sold online.

We need to create the non-profit's ecommerce platform so we need developers!! I am looking for developers who are interested in Third World economic development and creating a global on-line marketplace for the less fortunate.

I look forward to hearing from you!!

The John S. and James L.

Originally published on AshokaTech.

One of the many sessions in Hyderabad that I'm really excited about is a discussion on intellectual property with Richard Jefferson of Cambia, John Wilbanks of Science Commons, Phil Weilerstein of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, and Ashoka fellow Bright Simons of mPedigree.

Here's a great interview with Richard Jefferson that ABC TV Australia ran a few months ago. Jefferson explains how Cambia is enabling biotech innovation by rethinking how scientists deal with IP issues. He makes the alluring point that open source - something we often think of as a recent development - has actually existed for millennia, much longer than proprietary technologies.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to connect with Colin Rhinesmith, Community Media Coordinator at Cambridge Community Television (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Adjunct Lecturer for the Media and Culture Program at Bentley University.  Colin told me that they recently held a very popular social media workshop for seniors at Cambridge Community Television (@cctvcambridge) but that it is a topic that would benefit from more coverage - so, I asked if I could interview him!  You can learn more about the workshop and the issues seniors face with social media in th

The Facebook application Causes recently announced it hit the $20 Million mark in donations.  The America's Giving Challenge from Case Foundation spurred $2.1 Million in donations for charities this past winter.  But, despite these numbers, for most organizations and causes raising money via social media is still a hard thing to do.  There are different rules and new opportunities with online fundraising and every platform or application comes

Join TechSoup.org content creators, community leaders, and customer service support on February 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Pacific for a tour of how your organization can use all that TechSoup has to offer to improve your technology and help reach your mission. TechSoup, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is working toward a time when every nonprofit and social benefit organization will have the technology resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential.

We’ll walk you through the process of registering and requesting donated and discounted products from more than 35 donor partners like Microsoft and Adobe. We’ll also take you on a virtual tour of other resources in TechSoup’s tech arsenal.

Details

As some of you know, I'm spending some time unplugged in Burlington, Vermont this winter, near a great lake: reflecting on life, and renewing my spirit for the inspiring work so many are doing right now. Within this space, I discovered a post last night that really touches the nerve of where a lot of my thoughts have been lately. The post, "To all you Cynics" by Nicco Mele, dives deep into the nature of change ("change requires struggle"), the great power and traps of social networks, and the courage to not just think in incremental steps -- but to imagine and build towards a wholly different, better world. I sincerely suggest taking the time to read the short post in full.

The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) have been formed around a single belief: entrepreneurs change the world.

In less than the span of a year, New York Entrepreneur Week has become a powerful platform and voice for entrepreneurs. From innovative start-ups to seasoned businesses, we have brought entrepreneurs together to be counted as a force of change in a challenging economic climate. With your help, we have catapulted this movement into an event attended by over ten thousand entrepreneurs!

But we’re ready to do more. The Relentless Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, needs your help to propel the entrepreneurial experience to the next level of national and global events that will unite and inspire all entrepreneurs to make a greater difference.

Wikispaces is looking for translators - interested in helping out?  Wikispaces wants to offer the wiki platform in additional languages and needs the help of others who have strong written fluency in English and the additional language of choice.  This is not a paid-for opportunity, but one that will greatly impact the community of Wikispaces users.

Desired languages include: